Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the words of the Attorney-General.

The Longwood fire in the south and the Walwa fire in the Upper Murray have burned through hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland, national park, private property and small rural towns. Earlier fires in December destroyed homes and agricultural land in places like Goomalibee and Markwood. The bushfire season is far from over. As I speak, emergency services personnel are still on the ground protecting lives and communities. On behalf of the people of Indi, I say thank you to each and every one of you.

Bushfire disaster is something the people of Indi sadly know all too well. As I've travelled through affected towns in recent weeks, I've seen the same thing I always do: communities showing up for each other, town halls turned into relief centres, neighbours helping neighbours, people giving all that they can. But our resilience is not limitless. For many communities, this is the second or third catastrophic disaster in just a few years. What were once-in-a-century events are now happening once-in-a-decade, or even more often. This is the lived reality of my electorate. In Strathbogie Shire, 455 properties have been affected, with 115 homes destroyed or made uninhabitable; more than 13,500 hectares of pasture burned; 2,400 kilometres of fencing lost; and thousands of livestock killed. In Murrindindi Shire, a community still living with the trauma of Black Saturday, more than 190 homes have been lost—the highest number in the state.

At the Yarck Town Hall, I met Sandy Keath. Her husband, Andrew—known as Spud—has worked relentlessly since the fire, facing the heartbreaking task of disposing of 300 sheep. Sandy told me that farmers like them are exhausted—but they keep going. They need mental health support that meets them where they are in ways that work for their lives. In the Towong Shire, farmers like David and Tara Brewer lost nearly a million dollars in fodder and infrastructure, along with years of regenerative Landcare work. And beyond the fire front, entire towns were cut off for days without power, roads or telecommunications.

I want to thank Minister Kristy McBain for coming to Indi and for her engagement. These communities need substantial, ongoing, huge Commonwealth and state support to recover, more support to build the infrastructure that can withstand the next disaster, more protection for power and telecommunications—sustained assistance for people who have lost almost everything.

The scale of loss in these communities is substantial, and the government's support absolutely has to reflect this and must be there for the long haul. Recovery certainly doesn't end when the flames die down.

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